An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world - Chapter 88

An active hunter from Hokkaido was thrown into another world

Chapter 88   A mysterious victory for the hero

Evening falls.

Hero Blanversh is immersed in the twilight by the lakeside.

As I approach him…

Eek! Hahaha! Splash, splash! Aaah. Oh my!…

He’s gazing intently at the elven folk frolicking in the lake.

“Blanversh-san…”

“Is this heaven?”

“No, it’s more like…”

“Paradise, Eden, Shangri-La…”

They all mean the same thing, right?

“Elves are a race closely connected to water. It’s quite a common tradition for them to take a water bath at the end of the day, like this.”

“Alright, alright. What about Saran-san? Does Saran-san also take a water bath?”

“She used to. But now, we’ve built a bath in my house, so she mostly bathes there.”

“What an astonishing revelation… Are you monopolizing her all to yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Heh, you sneaky rascal!”

“Heh heh. Saran’s figure is so captivating that you can easily tell even through her camouflage hunter attire.”

“Doesn’t any of this stir anything within you? It’s simply tantalizing!”

The hero can’t even stand upright anymore.

Seeing such a picturesque scene with handsome and beautiful men, women, and children, resembling a painting by Renoir or a religious artwork, and responding like this. It’s just Saran who can elicit such a reaction from me. Honestly…

“I can’t bear it… Is there a place in this village, you know, of that sort?”

“There isn’t.”

“Or any customs involving skillful ladies or nighttime encounters…”

“Elves live long lives, which makes them rather indifferent to romance or sexuality. Such things don’t exist here.”

“…”

“Here, being bashful is more embarrassing. It’s a broad-minded place. How about you join in, Blanversh-san? Take it all off!”

“I’ll do it!”

Indeed, the hero is quite daring. With a brisk motion, he sheds his clothes, leaping into the lake with his lower half remaining like an orc.

The elves let out cries of alarm, fleeing in all directions.

Everyone is sprinting toward the shore.

Alone, the hero remained by the lakeside as dusk settled in.

Let’s leave him be.

After all, there are times when one desires solitude.

During the night, atop a tower or lookout, I converses with the goddess Nanotesu, occasionally scanning the surroundings with a thermal scope.

“So, I took care of the orcs the other day.”

“That’s good to hear. I might not have noticed, so I’ll inform you right away next time something like that happens. But it was lucky that you were there with the Hero.”

“There wasn’t any setup, right?”

“…What do you take me for?”

“Well, it just feels like the probability of major events happening around me is unusually high.”

“In this world, major events occur everywhere, in any city or village. There are plenty of similar things happening all over that Nakajima-san isn’t aware of. Don’t you realize you’re sticking your neck into things on your own?”

“Given that perspective, I’m at a loss for words…”

Indeed. There have been many events that I had no need to involve myself in. Often, people would have died, but the events themselves would have been resolved properly.

What I can do in this world isn’t anything significant. I’m not the protagonist, after all.

But still, I don’t want to stand by indifferently while events unfold before my eyes and then regret it later.

I wonder why. Well, that might just be what it means to be human.

“Anyway, those orcs were a stray group, so they’ve been wiped out. Kopori Village is safe now.”

“Thank you. But the village chief is concerned, so we’ll continue surveillance for this week.”

“Understood. If that’s the case…”

“I’ve had this question for a while now, but what’s the deal with those shrines? Is it really true that they’re used to seal the Demon King? Like, are they really made for that purpose?”

“Well, that’s… I had it secretly ordained by a divine oracle when the first hero defeated the Demon King. It’s been passed down through the generations.”

“I remember the time the witch tried to break the seal. You were trying to interfere then too, weren’t you?”

“Yes, places where the Earth’s veins overflow, where wormholes connect. It’s about keeping those in check.”

“But by keeping them in check, if the bloated Earth’s veins were to burst out from somewhere else eventually… about every few hundred years…”

“…That’s a straightforward way to put it. That’s pretty much how it is.”

“So, it won’t happen in my lifetime?”

“Yes. Probably.”

I’ll choose to believe that, for now.

“This year, a new hero has been chosen. Is it Nanotesu-san who bestows the power of ability?”

“No, it’s the strength of people’s hope. The desire for a hero to appear becomes a force that resides within the chosen hero.”

“Sounds like something out of a fantasy…”

“Not entirely. To put it simply, heroes are like spontaneously generated collective magic that humans have brought forth to combat the Demon King.”

“Oh, I see…”

“Is the goddess not involved?”

“That’s right. Even though humans might not be aware, they gradually gather magical energy, and the hero at the center acts as a catalyst. The church merely assists in cultivating hero worship; they don’t actually control or influence the hero.”

“I understand.”

“That’s why a hero needs to be popular and morally upright. Especially during times when the Demon King appears, there’s a strong surge of people’s wishes for the Demon King to be defeated. This is why heroes become stronger. The fact that heroes during peaceful times seem somewhat average is also due to this.”

“There was a summoned hero from the church who attempted to assassinate the king.”

“That kind of situation is problematic. Summoning solely by the church resulted in a hero influenced by the dark desires of the upper echelons of the church. Instances like that occasionally arise, causing me a fair amount of trouble as well.”

“Blanversh-san was exceptionally powerful, almost superhuman.”

“That’s because the previous hero was quite inadequate. As a result, even more hope gathered, and since he managed to defeat a Tyrannosaurus rex in actuality, the strength became even more concentrated. He might think he just leveled up or something. He might surprisingly become a hero that’s remembered in history.”

“I guess that’s right. It’s good. There won’t be any more stages for me.”

“In the church, they summon heroes, summoners from other continents summon dinosaurs. The development of summoning magic in this world seems to be heading in quite an unexpected direction. We’ll need to remain cautious in the future.”

“Wait a second, wait a second, wait a second! What’s with that unsettling foreshadowing? Is there some move by summoners again?”

“However, Nakajima-san, congratulations on your mysterious victory as a hero.”

“What do you mean by ‘victory’?”

“The Goddess of Victory is descending. Well then, communication terminated!”

Saran is calling from below.

“Lunchbox!”

Saying so, she climbs the tower.

“Oh, thank you.”

“The hero has returned.”

“Returned?”

“Yeah, something like teleportation magic, and he bid farewell to everyone and vanished with a ‘shu’ sound.”

“Amazing, the hero.”

Saying that, I accept the evening meal lunchbox from Saran, who climbed up the tower.

“Here, from the hero, for Shin.”

It’s a letter.

“Alright then, do your best.”

“Yeah.”

Saran descended.

During the late hours, I’m scheduled to take over from the village’s young members. Until then, it’s my responsibility.

I open the envelope and use a handheld light to read its contents.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

“I’ll bring an even more wonderful partner than Saran-san.

Next time, I won’t lose.

Blanversh”

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…

What’s with this mysterious single victory of mine?

Is that what it is?

You’d better steer clear of women, Blanversh-san. Considering what happened with the harem of the previous hero, it’s not something that seems wise, is it? It’s a recipe for trouble.

First of all, there’s no way there could be a woman better than Saran, right?